Real Steel

Coming to DVD bluray January 24th from director Shawn Levy and Dreamworks comes a tale of life with a punch of “Real Steel”.

This film tells the story of Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), an ex-boxer that has turned his attention to boxing robots, very large robots. Working out of a gym owned by Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lily), Charlie was once trained by Bailey’s father.

Eager to make money, he never seems to take life to seriously, that is until his son Max (Dakota Goyo) shows up. Charlie isn’t keen on the idea of having the boy around and cuts a deal with Aunt Deborah (Hope Davis) to sign over his parental rights.

Spending a few weeks with Max is also part of a deal Charlie has made, but gets more than he bargained for. The boy finds the robot Atom, a sparring program that is older than most of the fighting robots. But Max and Atom take the robot-boxing scene by storm reaching the championship.

Charlie and Max discover a relationship with one heck of a punch!

FINAL WORD: Jackman as Charlie plays the total distant father who remains selfish almost to the end. A different kind of role for Jackman but still fun for the film. It is his chance to participate in a fun film and show off his muscles at the same time.

Goyo as Max is stubborn, filled with one-liners and smarter than Charlie. The relationship between Goyo’s character and the robot Atom is sweet, endearing and funny as well. Lily’s character is the love interest of Charlie but, truthfully, there wasn’t any substance to her being there. At least she got to kiss Jackman!

Other cast include: Anthony Mackie as Finn, Kevin Durand as Ricky, James Rebhorn as Marvin, Marco Ruggeri as Cliff, Karl Yune as Tak Mashido, and Olga Fonda as Farra Lemkova.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give “Real Steel” three and a half tubs of popcorn out of five. It feels like a combination of “Transformers” and “Rocky” with humor. This really is a fun film for families who enjoy a lot of action.

The DVD contains extended and deleted scenes with an introduction by director Shawn Levy, the making of Metal Alley along with building the bots used in the film. There is a section with Sugar Ray Leonard “Cornerman’s Champ” along with my favorite, the bloopers!

From huge rock ‘em sock ‘em robots, to a father-son reconnect, just add a robot named Atom who has got the stuff Dreamworks is made of and you’ve got a night in at the movies.

U.S. Marines assigned to 3rd Marine Division deployed to the Indo-Asia region send messages back home to loved ones for Valentines Day. If you know anyone who is currently deployed from 3rd Marine Division, listen in and you might have someone giving a message to you.

171216-M-DI829-1001 ARABIAN GULF (Dec. 16, 2017) Lightning strikes near the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) as it transits the Arabian Gulf. Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier strike group are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Mark Vetere/Released)